


No Strings

by Lara234



Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/F, Friends With Benefits, Mass Effect - Freeform, andromeda - Freeform, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-18 04:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10609590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lara234/pseuds/Lara234
Summary: Ryder was stressed from having the entire fate of the Initiative on her shoulders, while Peebee was anxious and frustrated about a run in with an ex. Both blow off some steam together, no strings attached. After all what's a little zero-G fun between friends?Or the one where Ryder is pining hard and Peebee is desperate to keep her distance from any form of romantic entanglement that involves feelings and a certain pathfinder...





	

To say Sara Ryder was stressed was an understatement.

At 22 years old she never expected to be holding the entire fate of the Initiative on her shoulders. In fact if someone had told her 6 months ago (okay 600 years and 6 months ago) she'd have laughed in their face and wondered where they'd pulled such a ridiculous notion out of their ass. Yet fast forward to the present and Alec Ryder, The Pathfinder and her dad, was dead. The asari, turian and salarian arks were missing somewhere in Heleus, (or at least they hoped they were here and not in dark space) and so far they only had one outpost on Eos to call home.

Oh and to top it all off there's a bunch of nasty aliens called the kett who were hell bent on 'exhaulting' them all into extinction.

Ryder just didn't know how to cope with it all, the stress was growing more and more each day. And as much as Dr. Lexi tried to help with her yoga exercises and kale based meal plans, Sara didn't feel any better. She wished Scott was here with her.

Scott was always the responsible one, in sharp contrast to Sara's wild child. Scott always had a plan for every outcome and situation and executed it with precision, one of the benefits of being an ex-Alliance soldier. On trips out to Purgatory with their friends, Scott would be the 'mom' of the group, making sure everyone had plenty of water to drink after one too many tequilas and organising the taxi back at the end of the night. Too many times had he carried a drunk Sara out of the bar. If only he could get the chance to meet Vetra, Ryder was sure they'd get on like a house on fire.

But no, her baby brother was in a coma, stable albeit, but he showed no signs of waking up soon. At least that's what Harry and SAM had told her. So yeah worrying about her only remaining family member didn't help her stress levels either. Thank god for her team on the Tempest, they were pulling her through this dark patch but even then things weren't entirely peachy.

She wanted to help every one of them straight away with their problems as soon as she could, but everyone seemed to think their problem was priority and needed to be resolved by her ASAP. Mission and task wise, It seemed like every time she ticked something off her list, another problem popped up out of nowhere. Liam wanted some armour making; Cora wanted help locating the asari ark and some personal heroine of hers; Drack had Krogan colony issues and Peebee...well Peebee was another problem for Sara all together.

When the asari had first knocked Ryder over and straddled her on Eos, Ryder didn't really know what to think. Here was this gorgeous asari on top of her, speaking at 100 miles an hour to her, a complete stranger. She ended up tagging along onboard the Tempest after activating the Remnant vault and once she was settled in Ryder came to realise how much she really liked Peebee, and why she really shouldn't be feeling this way towards the asari. Peebee was a massive commitment phobe. She'd made that clear to all the crew; her stay was only 'temporary' and even though she practically flirted in every sentence she spoke, don't take that as a sign for her wanting anything serious. No strings. Whatsoever.

Ryder was setting herself up for heartbreak and she knew it with every giggle and wink Peebee threw her way. And heck she had no idea whether this was all just fun and games to the asari and whether she reciprocated Ryder's feelings in the slightest. In the nomad Peebee had even flirted with Cora, casually slipping her a chat up line whilst the human biotic sat uncomfortably next to her.

_"Hey Cora, are you a warp field? Cause I wanna throw you down and blow your mind."_

Ryder had slammed the brakes so hard in surprise that she'd lurched forward and smacked her face off the steering wheel, causing an unscheduled trip to the med bay, 10 stitches, and a whole load of teasing from Peebee. So yeah, pining after her hadn't done Ryder any favours so far. The stress from being pathfinder and sexual frustration from liking Peebee had wound Sara up to the point where she'd started to look so miserable that even Jaal avoided passing her in the corridor of the Tempest in fear of her temper.

It all got too much one afternoon after an outing on Havarl. Ryder stepped into the hangar after a long trip planet side trying to reactivate the monoliths across the Angaran homeworld. She'd been shot at by Roekarr, accused of being dangerous for the millionth time by numerous angara, and covered in bug vomit from the local wildlife. Oh and her face was stinging from massive cut across her cheek after a close encounter with a wild adhi.

Liam and Drack had been with her and also been doused in the bug goo, but Ryder had taken the brunt of it and was covered from head to toe. Aside from activaing the monoliths and vault, everything that could've gone wrong today had for Ryder. She wanted nothing more than to return to her quarters and take a nice long shower and relax for the rest of the day cycle. However, the second she stepped onto the ship, SAM politely informed her that Kallo wished to see her on the bridge about the next destination for the Tempest, and something about the location of the Salarian ark. She groaned.

Stomping across the hangar in the direction of the bathroom, she unbuckled her gooey armour and threw it across the room, nearly knocking Liam out with it in the process.

"Errr everything okay Ryder?" he asked regaining his feet, wiping off a stray blob of alien slime from his face.

"Yeah fine." She grunted in response.

"Okaaaaay...well you look like you could use a drink. And a bath."

He paused for a second, before his eyes lit up.

"Hey, I managed to get a hold of some bottles of Heineken in Kadara. The good kind, from Amsterdam, none of that Thessia brewed shit. Wanna kick back and open a few?"

Ryder softened. Liam was such a good guy, and any other day she would've taken him up on it.

"Ugh sorry Liam, I would of if I didn't have a ton of emails to respond to and reports to file. Plus Kallo wants me up on the bridge and-"

_**"You have AVP outstanding pathfinder."** _

"YES THANK YOU SAM." Ryder snapped.

"Yikes, no wonder you're so stressy," Liam said. "Well hey, if you need to talk I'm here you know? And I'm sure we can crack open those beers another time."

Ryder smiled.

"Maybe we can save them for movie night?"

"Definitely, it'll be good to relax for a little bit. Can't wait to tell Jaal about it, he's been dying to show us these angaran spy movies. It's like their version of James Bond, or so I'm told. Anyway catch you later pathfinder."

After sneaking/crawling past the med bay window (she really didn't feel like getting a check up off Lexi right now for any potential allergic reactions to the Havarl slime) she finally reached the quietness of her room. After stripping off she quickly showered, dried her hair and pulled on a pair of Initiative standard sweatpants and t-shirt. It was technically a Friday...casual Fridays are allowed for a Pathfinder right? She hauled herself up the ladder to the bridge and walked over to the computer console, gingerly massaging the large cut across her cheek with some medi-gel. She was just scrolling through her emails when she heard muffled shouts coming from Peebee's room.

"Ugh I don't...just argh! Zip it POC..."

Glancing over to the bridge Ryder could see that Kallo was too busy having an in depth conversation with Suvi about whether a cluster of stars they were flying past looked like a krogan to take notice that she was here. Maybe she could quickly sneak into see Peebee before she dealt with whatever information the pilot had to tell her? Lord knows Peebee would be a sight for her very sore eyes. The pathfinder instinct in her told her not to be so neglective of her responsibilities, but Ryder's heart was pulling her towards Peebee and as to why the asari sounded so upset and frustrated. Curiosity got the better of Ryder and she found herself opening the door to Peebee's room.

"Come on, think...think! I need...something," Peebee spoke out loud to no-one in particular whilst she paced around the small confinements of the room, glancing from object to object as if she was searching for something.

"Who are you talking to?"

Peebee jumped. She was clearly not expecting company. The startled look on the asari's blue face relaxed when she saw it was only the pathfinder.

"Shit! Ryder! You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that!" Peebee scolded whilst she continued to move about all fidgety. "I'm talking to myself, don't tell me you never do that?"

Sara internally rolled her eyes at the irony of it all. Watching Peebee was like looking in a mirror, the asari was obviously just as irritated and wound up as she was. If not more.

"You seem...stressed?" She stated; Peebee was still flitting about.

"I'm not built for this kind of homesteading, I don't like people knowing where I am and where my stuff is." Peebee grimaced, holding her hand up to massage her forehead before she let out a cry of frustration and banged a glowing blue biotic fist on the desk. "Arghhh!"

"Whoa, whoa whoa! Peebee you've gotta relax, you're starting to stress me out." Ryder warned, a bit alarmed by the display of biotics.

"Ha! Starting? Ryder, you've been stressed out for the past month now and don't lie to me. I can tell you're wound up tighter than Lexi's spanx. Plus word on the street is that you've had shitty luck today. Something about you being covered in sticky green barf?"

Peebee arched an eyebrow at Ryder with a smug look as the pathfinder huffed in defeat and tried not to blush at the asari's unwavering gaze. Especially when Peebee raised a gloved thumb to tenderly brush the healing cut on the pathfinders cheek.

"Anyway," Peebee continued dropping her hand suddenly as if she'd been burnt. "When I felt like this back home, I'd look for a zero-G chamber or an isolation tank. Someplace just to drift away...I could really use that right now."

The last few words were almost a whisper. Whatever this funk Peebee was in was really chewing her up on this inside, much like Ryder's stress. The pathfinder pitied her. There was a moment of pause when Sara tried to gather up some confidence to reach out and grab the same gloved hand that hand been on her face moments before, until SAM interrupted.

 _ **"If I may, gravity can be overridden in the escape pod. You can create a zero-G chamber,"**_ the AI suggested as the entrance to the escape pod opened up.

Peebee's mood changed instantly as she squealed in excitement. Ryder was really starting to think she was bipolar.

"YES! Of course! SAM you're a genius!"

The giddy asari all but bounced over into the escape pod with glee as she chatted happily away to Ryder.

"This'll make a difference Ryder, just you see!"

Sara was hovering around the pod entrance when Peebee turned back around to face her with a mischievous look in her green eyes and the smug cocky grin she only seemed to reserve for the pathfinder. Ryder internally swooned and took a noticeable gulp of nerves. Peebee smirked.

"You know," she drawled. "There's room for two?"

Ryder panicked. She was trying to make herself look cool and composed at Peebee's invitation when in reality she was sure her face was getting redder and redder.  
She internally scolded herself. It was just an escape pod, Peebee surely didn't mean to make her invitation sound so sexual...right?

Christ she was really beginning to regret not taking Liam up on his offer of alcohol, at least then she wouldn't have to have three cold showers afterwards to calm herself down. Steeling herself, she grinned back at Peebee and suavely (at least Ryder thought she sounded suave) replied,

"That's all I needed to hear."

Sara pulled herself through the tiny opening, tripped but luckily caught herself from landing on her nose with her biotics. She stood up embarrassed, and found herself standing face to face with Peebee only an inch away. All the suave and confidence she had before disappeared instantly and she could feel herself sweating as the asari's breath tickled her nose.

"Umm...hi," she squeaked out as SAM locked the pod door

"Smooth." Peebee chuckled before turning to the console and starting the zero-G engine.

And then the two were floating around the pod like feathers caught in the wind. Ryder had a sudden flashback to her awakening from cyro, in a similar situation with Liam and Lexi after the gravity malfunctioned on the Hyperion. Sara was pulled out of her daydream by the sight of Peebee stretching and exposing the blue skin of her flat stomach right by Ryder's face. Ok yeah now she understood why so many liked the asari.

"Close your eyes, relax. Let yourself go." Peebee whispered softly.

Now ignoring the blue skin in front of her, Ryder did as Peebee told and let herself drift freely around the pod. The asari wasn't lying about it being relaxing, Sara felt months worth of pent up stress and irritation disappear as she glided through the air. She wished the same could be said for her feelings towards Peebee. They were very much still there, especially when the asari let out little sounds of pleasure whilst floating around with her.

"Oh...this hits the spot," Peebee moaned.

Ryder nearly melted there and then. They'd somehow got in a position where she was floating above Peebee when the asari called out to her.

"Ryder..."

"Y-yeah?"

"There's something else that would relax me. It would help you get rid of all that stress too I'm sure."

Peebee's voice was so husky and low that Ryder nearly forgot this was the same asari who'd been doing Mickey Mouse impersonations with Liam only yesterday.

"What's that?" Ryder asked innocently trying not to get her hopes up.

Peebee moved herself back around so the two were floating face to face again. Ryder nearly choked as the asari grabbed the nape of her neck and began to play with the strands of hair there. Peebee hummed in amusement before answering.

"Wanna fool around?"

Ryder's heart rate must have spiked through the roof and to be honest the pathfinder was half expecting SAM to pop up and question if she was alright. Luckily the AI must have been used to similar situations with her dad and gave Ryder her privacy.

"Doesn't matter if you've got something else going on, I can be utterly discreet. Just two people blowing off some steam, no strings attached and believe me Ryder I've wanted to blow some steam off with you the minute I jumped you on Eos. But only if there's no strings."

Ryder was having that dilemma again. On one hand she was ecstatic that Peebee also found her attractive, but on the other she was disheartened by the casualness of it all. Deep down she knew she really liked the asari and would want it to be more than friends with benefits. Ohhh but the way Peebee was staring at her as if she wanted to devour her and the hand playing with her hair, and the light tickles of breath on her face and those blue lips....ohhh fuck it all.

"Yeah, that'd be fun," Ryder replied casually, like she was some kind of expert on one night stands and not internally turning to a puddle of mush at the thought of seeing Peebee naked.

"Okay then, say no more." Peebee stated as she began to lean in.

"W-wait! Here? Now?!" Ryder spluttered.

Trust Peebee to not be satisfied with having sex in a bed like most people.

"You do know what 'say no more' means right?" The asari teased as she carressed Ryder's lips with the pad of her thumb.

She let out one final breath before leaning in and capturing the pathfinder's lips with her own before pulling back slightly giggling, and then diving back. Ryder saw stars, she was finally kissing the asari after months of frustration. Somewhere her brain was trying to nag at her that it wasn't going to work out and she'd end up hurt but she ignored it when Peebee's tongue entered her mouth and began battling against her own in a passionate dance.

"Oow! Not again" Ryder yelped some minutes later, pulling her lips away from Peebee's neck as they floated into the walls around them.

By now most of their clothing was off and the asari was panting in anticipation in between little giggles at Ryder's misfortune at colliding with every sharp protruding object in the pod. As the pathfinder moved lower and lower down Peebee's body the gasps turned into moans and the asari pulled hard at strands of Ryder's hair, impatiently pushing her head closer to where she wanted her to be.

"R-Ryder...please." She gasped.

Ryder, with new found confidence, glanced up from in between the two blue legs and locked eyes with the asari. Not breaking the eye contact, Ryder gave her a cheeky grin before diving in and sending Peebee to heaven.

After what seemed like hours, maybe days, the two finally stopped and remained entangled around each other naked, floating around the escape pod still trying to catch their breath. Neither spoke, worried that the broken silence would lead to a conversation about something that definitely didn't stick to the 'no strings' agreement.  
After five minutes of floating in silence, Ryder coughed awkwardly.

"Err I should really go, I have so much to do before the day cycle is up. I was actually on my way to see Kallo before...you know. Actually he's probably looking for me..." she rambled, trying hard not to look at Peebee's burning gaze.

 _ **"If I may interrupt,"**_ SAM finally announced. _**"Kallo did in fact come here looking for you approximately thirty five minutes ago Pathfinder, until he left after he heard you and Peebee engaging in intercourse. He returned to the cockpit somewhat repulsed, citing something about not understanding the mating rituals of other species."**_

Peebee let out a howl of laughter, not the slightest bit bothered whilst Ryder groaned in frustration at the thought of her sex life becoming the talk of all of Andromeda. If Kallo overheard that meant that Suvi would have heard the gossip by now. And if Suvi knew, that in turn would mean the entire crew would too. The Scottish woman was an absolute gossip whore, along with Drack...yes Drack. The old krogan tried to play it off that he didn't care one bit about the other crew members' lives but he was just as bad as Suvi and Kallo, if not worse.

On request SAM returned the gravity in the escape pod back to normal and the two began to get dressed but not before getting a quick final glance at the other .

"Hold on a second," Peebee questioned whilst tugging on her jacket as she stepped back into her room next to POC. "SAM, have you been listening in on us the entire time? You dirty little AI!"

 _ **"To an extent yes,"**_ the AI replied in it's usual monotone robotic voice. _**"I am always with Sara due to her implant and neurological connection. However I am in AI and the reproductive patterns between organics is nothing new. Sara's father and mother would often-"**_

"THAT'S ENOUGH SAM!" Ryder cried out in horror.

Peebee's giggles had transcended into full on crying by this point. Even POC seemed to chirp in amusement at Ryder's expense. The latter was sulking, her bottom lip stuck out like a upset child.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Peebee teased , stepping closer to the moody pathfinder again. "Makes me wanna drag you back in there and have you all to myself for the rest of the day."

"Don't tempt me..." Ryder warned playfully. "Ugh but yeah I should go, too much pathfinding to do...people to save, vaults to unlock. You know that kinda thing."

"Sure, me and POC will keep working on this rem-tech. We're close to something, I'm sure! Either way I'll let you know... _pathfinder_. And next time you need relieving of some stress you know where to find me."

The asari winked before turning back to her tinkering at the desk. Ryder sighed and reluctantly walked toward the door. Playful banter aside, she was really upset that what they'd both shared was nothing more than a casual fling. As far as Peebee was concerned they were nothing more than friends and that hurt...a lot. But she'd got herself into this position she'd have to live with the consequences.

"Hey Sara?" Peebee called out softly, the use of her first name not going unnoticed by the pathfinder.

"Yeah?"

"No strings right?"

Ryder's heart sunk once more. She smiled meekly trying not to show the pain that was cutting through her.

"No strings." She lied.

 


End file.
